Booker leaves Suns’ loss to Spurs with sore hip

AUSTIN, Texas — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker played nearly 9 minutes during his team’s 121-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday before he was ruled out in the first half because of right hip soreness.

Suns coach Jordan Ott didn’t provide an update on Booker’s health after the game.

«[He] tried to go back out there,» Ott said. «[Had to] save him from himself. [He] wasn’t moving great when he came back in.»

Booker left the game with 5:24 remaining in the opening quarter with Phoenix trailing 19-16 and didn’t return until 4:46 remained before intermission. He played only 71 more seconds before leaving for good with 2:35 left in the first half and heading to the locker room.

«He felt good enough to come back in,» Ott said of the five-time All-Star. «And the first couple of times up and down, I didn’t notice anything. And then, [I] definitely noticed there at the end of that second stint.»

Before Booker’s latest injury setback, the 29-year-old sat out of seven consecutive games from Jan. 25 through Feb. 5 because of a sprained right ankle suffered Jan. 23 against the Atlanta Hawks.

Booker returned to play two games — against Philadelphia and Dallas — before the Suns held him out Feb. 11 against the Oklahoma City Thunder for right ankle injury management.

An 11-year veteran, Booker leads the Suns in scoring, averaging 25.2 points on 45.5% from the field with 4.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists.

The Suns host the Orlando Magic on Saturday at Mortgage Matchup Center.